Cooking a frozen burrito in air fryer is the ultimate frozen burrito upgrade! Slightly crispy, slightly soft, and piping hot!
Keep reading for my air fryer burrito recipe and best tips. This method works for all kinds of burritos, whether you’re planning to make a chicken burrito, steak burrito, or even a breakfast burrito!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve probably eaten hundreds of burritos in my life.
Getting takeaway burritos is my of my favorite treats. The year my daughter was born, we ordered burritos from our favorite Mexican takeout place at least twice a week on average. It was a delicious year!
As it turns out, though, ordering burritos twice a week isn’t the most wallet-friendly practice.
Which is why I also love frozen burritos.
Much cheaper than ordering from a restaurant, frozen burritos are an awesome and quick lunch, and they’re great for dinner when paired with some veggies or a side salad.
And frozen breakfast burritos are great when you need a fast but filling option for yourself or your family in the morning. My family is always rushing in the morning, and easy breakfast foods like my freezer egg muffins or frozen breakfast burritos can be quite the saviour!
Plus, they’re delicious!


Frozen burritos are one of my favorite convenience foods, and air fryers are one of my favorite convenient cooking methods.
One day, I wondered what would happen if I combined the two. This is that story!
Air Fryer Frozen Burritos
Okay – so we’ve established my love for burritos. But here’s the thing. For the longest time, I was never actually able to cook frozen burritos in a way that they tasted as good as restaurant burritos.
Microwaving, in my experience, is a lackluster way to cook frozen burritos. They heat unevenly, and I often end up with a soggy burrito.
Using a conventional oven to cook frozen burritos is fine, but not perfect. I can never find the perfect balance to get the burrito hot all the way through, get the edges slightly crispy, and keep the middle of the tortilla soft.
Ditto with pan frying.
Cooking a Frozen Burrito in Air Fryer is a Revelation!
As with lots of families, we’ve fallen in love with air fryers recently.
A friend I went to high school introduced air frying to me. She lives in Mexico, and loves to air fry healthier versions of Mexican classics for her kids (taquitos are their favorite!).
When COVID struck, we went to stay with my mom for a bit, and she has a toaster oven/air fryer combo that we got to try out.
Soon enough, we had to buy our own, which let me start experimenting with burritos in air fryer methods.
I was surprised at how easy and good frozen burritos in an air fryer are! It’s now my leading method to cook frozen burritos (and other foods, such as air fryer french fries, chicken tenders and frozen pot pies).
In the rest of this post, I’ll share how to cook frozen burritos in air fryers, giving you the perfect balance of crispy, soft, and gooey every time!
At the end of this post, I’ve included printable instructions for cooking frozen burritos in an air fryer, with step-by-step instructions and tips.
How To Cook a Frozen Burrito in an Air Fryer: Cooking Instructions
Below, you’ll find my favorite method for cooking a frozen burrito in air fryer. I love this method because it’s EASY! It’s a one-step method whereby you put the frozen burrito in your air fryer and leave it until it’s done.
However, I’ve also tried some other methods of cooking frozen burritos in the air fryer. I’ve listed those alternative cooking methods towards the bottom of this post if you wan to try!
Pre Heat Before You Air Fry
My first tip is to preheat your air fryer to 350°.
This seems like a simple step, but it lets your frozen burritos cook evenly throughout.
If you have a digital air fryer, it’s a bit easier as you can preheat until the screen tells you when you’ve reached 350°.
If you have a manual style air fryer, just preheat for a couple of minutes. You don’t need to pre-heat your air fryer for too long – maybe 3 or 4 minutes.
Line the Frozen Burritos in Air Fryer Basket
Next up, remove your frozen burritos from their packages and pop them in the air fryer basket. I recommend placing the side with the “seam” up, so if anything leaks out it doesn’t leak onto your air fryer basket.
If you’re cooking multiple frozen burritos in the air fryer, place them in a single layer. You don’t want them to touch, but they can be pretty close together.

Cook Frozen Burritos
Cooking time for frozen burritos in an air fryer is between 12 and 15 minutes. This will get them golden brown, just on top.
If they’re not looking golden, you can air fry for 3 more minutes. Depending on the size of the burritos, they might just take a bit more time.

Remove and Let Stand
Remove them from the air fryer and let them stand for a minute or two – the air fryer gets the internal temperature really hot, so you’ll want to wait a minute or two before handling or cutting.

Enjoy

Can You Do it Any Faster?
In writing this post, I wondered if there was any way to reduce to cook time on a frozen burrito in the air fryer.
I decided to test it out!
If you microwave your burrito first, then put the partially re-heated burrito in the air fryer, it lowers the cook time and you still get a great result.
I microwaved my burrito for 1 minute, and then cooked it in the air fryer for 6 minutes at 400 degrees F.
It’s a great alternative method when you’re in a hurry.
What Kind of Frozen Burrito Does This Air Fryer Method Work for?
This air fryer burrito method should work with any flavor of frozen burrito – even breakfast burritos (which I used to take the photos for this post).
Whether you want to enjoy bean burritos, chicken burritos, beef burritos, veggie burritos, or even frozen breakfast burritos (which I used as an example), this air fryer recipe should work!

How Do You Make Frozen Burritos Better?
In addition to this air fryer burrito recipe which is really more of a “how to”, you can upgrade your frozen burrito experience with some quality toppings and sauces.
Quality ingredients and creativity are always the best way to upgrade any food, and transform everyday basics into any number of delicious varieties!
Here are some ideas to make frozen burritos better.
Dipping Sauce
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Guacamole
- Avocado crema
- Melted cheese dip or spicy cheese dip
- Chipotle mayo
- Hot sauce
Toppings
- Scallions (for breakfast burritos)
- Fresh diced tomato
- Fresh diced or cubed avocado
- Shredded cheese
- Crumbled queso blanco/queso fresco (soft Mexican white cheese)
- Lime wedges
- Cilantro
FAQs About Air Fryer Burritos
What is a Burrito?
A burrito is a Mexican dish that is common in Northern Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. It consists of a flour tortilla stuffed with fillings such as beans, cheese, chicken, steak, pork, or beef, as well as salsas. The tortilla is rolled around the fillings, and the edges are tucked in to make a thick cylinder shape.
In Tex-Mex style, burritos are often treated as hand-held foods – wrapped in tin foil that you can peal back as you eat.

What is the Difference Between a Burrito and a Chimichanga?
A Chimichanga is a deep fried burrito. Chimichangas are often served on a plate, with sauce poured over top, so you need to eat it with a fork and knife!

Are Frozen Burritos Pre-Cooked?
Yes, frozen burritos are precooked.
When we talk about air fryer frozen burritos, we’re really talking about it as a method of re-heating the burrito, not cooking it from scratch.
That said, it’s still really important you get it to a consistent internal temperature.
Another word of warning: air frying makes food really hot, so you have to be careful when handling and eating so as to not burn yourself!
What Are The Best Frozen Burritos to Use?
My personal favorite is Amy’s, but I have to admit, I have far fewer options in Canada (where I live) than readers in the US would have.
According to a bit of research on Ranker and Reddit, these are some of the best frozen burritos you can buy:
- Evol
- Amy’s Kitchen
- El Monterey
- Don Miguel
- Jose Ole
- Tina’s
- Red’s
- Patio
- Las Campana
- Reynaldo’s
Do You Need to Use Oil for this Air Fryer Frozen Burrito Method?
No. You definitely don’t need to. However, if your air fryer has a history of sticking, you can always spray a tiny bit on the basket to prevent the soft tortilla shell from sticking.
Worth noting, you should always use pure cooking oil with your air fryer.
I have a stainless steel oil mister that I just fill up with pure cooking oil, and give a light spray on my air fryer basket. The Evo Oil Sprayer is also a really popular choice, and you can get it in a two pack, so you can fill one with olive oil, and another with an oil that has a high smoking point for air frying, such as avocado oil.
Never use cooking sprays like PAM and similar brands. Many of them contain ingredients like soy lecithin, which can damage your air fryer.
What Are Some Other Methods of Cooking a Frozen Burrito in an Air Fryer?
- The Microwave Plus Air Fry Method:
Preheat your air fryer to 400 F. Remove your burrito from the wrapper and microwave for 1 minute. Then cook the burrito in the preheated air fryer for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on your fryer and how golden/crispy you like your shell.
Final Thoughts About Cooking Frozen Burritos in an Air Fryer
If you’ve ever wondered how to make frozen burritos better, the answer, my friends, is in the air fryer.
It really is the secret to getting your frozen burrito to be perfectly golden brown on the outside – I’m talking slightly crispy edges and a soft tortilla middle – and ooey gooey good on the inside.

After the first time I tried a frozen burrito cooked in an air fryer? I knew I’d never go back to microwaving. Or using the oven.
And just as great? Cooking a frozen burrito in an air fryer is easy peasy and takes no time at all.
Perfect for the turtles in the world, who enjoy life in the slow lane like me, and want something that’s quick, easy, and delicious.
Frozen Burrito in Air Fryer

Slightly crispy, slightly soft, with a piping hot and evenly cooked filling. This method for cooking a frozen burrito in air fryer makes for a perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner burrito.
Ingredients
- Frozen store bought burritos
Instructions
- Pre heat air fryer to 350℉
- Remove frozen breakfast burritos and line in air fryer. You should be able to get at least 4 of them into the air fryer. You don’t want them touching but they can be pretty close together.
- Air fry for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown just on top. If they not looking golden you can air fry for 3 more minutes. Depending on the size of the burritos they might just take a bit more time.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 108Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 272mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 4g
This nutritional is a guesstimate only provided by a 3rd party plugin. Nutritional information will vary based on the frozen burrito brand you use. This nutritional information may not be accurate and should not be treated as such.